This Annual Report includes all funds of the County. The County provides its residents with a variety of services in areas such as 911 emergency operations, prison, courts, probation, domestic relations, bridge maintenance, planning and conservation, and human services which include children services and mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition to general County activities, the Commissioners have financial accountability for the Adams County Conservation District and the Adams County Industrial Development Authority. Therefore, those blended component units are included in the Annual Report. The County Commissioners are also responsible for appointing the members of the boards of several other authorities and advisory boards, but the County's accountability for these organizations does not extend beyond the appointments and their finances are not included here. (See Note 1 to the financial statements.)

The independent audit of the basic financial statements of the County is part of a broader, federally mandated "Single Audit" designed to meet the special needs of federal grantor agencies. The standards governing the Single Audit require the independent auditor to report on the County's internal controls and compliance with legal requirements, with special emphasis on those involving the administration of federal awards. These reports are available in the County's separately issued Single Audit Report.

The County of Adams is a fifth-class county created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and named in honor of President John Adams. The County, with a total of 522 square miles, is situated in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania along the Mason-Dixon Line. Harrisburg, the state capital, is located 36 miles north of Gettysburg, the County seat. The outer suburbs of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore are within an hour's drive from many communities. Surrounding counties include Cumberland, Franklin and York in Pennsylvania, and Carroll and Frederick counties in Maryland.

The County's character is primarily residential and rural in nature. Gettysburg is surrounded by countryside rich in visual beauty and encompasses some of the East Coast's most productive agricultural areas. Agriculture generally and the fruit industry in particular have been an important part of Adams County since the mid-1800's. Adams County ranks first in the State for apple production, while Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the nation, behind Washington, Michigan, and New York.

The County is governed by a Board of Commissioners consisting of three members elected to four-year terms. The Commissioners are the responsible managers and administrators of the County's fiscal affairs. County Code provides for the elected Controller to act as a "check and balance" on County management and administrators by keeping the financial books, auditing, settling, and adjusting financial accounts, and reporting the County's financial results. The Treasurer is elected to receive and receipt all monies due or accruing to the County and to invest surplus funds. The Court of Common Pleas is part of the Unified Judicial System provided for by the Pennsylvania Constitution. Court related row offices include the Clerk of Courts, District Attorney, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, and Sheriff.

The most recent estimates indicate Adams County ranked 31st in the state with a population of 107,594 people. The median age of a county resident was 44 years (Source: 2024 data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis and United States Census).